Opinion

2012 marks 50th year for Morgan County Economic Development Corp.

Businesses, individuals honored with awards

ByDAN BARKER Times News Editor

Posted:
03/29/2013 01:03:43 PM MDT

Updated:
04/02/2013 09:41:18 AM MDT

From left, East Morgan County Hospital Chief Nursing Officer and CEO Linda Thorpe receive the Large Business of the Year Award from Rick Kriegh, president of the Morgan County Economic Development Corp., during the organizationâ s 2013 Annual Meeting Thursday at the Country Steak-Out.
(Dan Barker/Fort Morgan Times)

During 2012, what is today called the Morgan County Economic Development Corp. reached its 50th year of working to improve the local economy.

The name of the organization changed from what was initially Fort Morgan Industrial Foundation Inc. when it was formed in 1962, but the purposes and objectives of MCEDC have not changed, said Rick Kriegh, president of the corporation board of directors, during its annual meeting at the Country Steak-Out.

When it started, "the primary objective of this corporation shall be to benefit the county as measured by increased employment, payroll, business, volume and corresponding factors rather than monetary profit to the corporation or its members," he said.

Ron Sand, right, was given the Small Business of the Year Award by Morgan County Economic Development Corp. President Rick Kriegh during the organization s 2013 Annual Meeting Thursday at the Country Steak-Out.
(Dan Barker/Fort Morgan Times)

MCEDC met those goals over the past year, since it helped four new businesses become established and 17 new full-time-equivalent jobs were created, said Executive Director Cassandra Wilson.

Those new businesses invested more than $18 million in the community to become operational, she said.

Among new projects were the construction of a new Hampton Inn and the renovation and opening of Sand's Park Terrace Inn, both in Fort Morgan.

Wilson's Number 1 job is recruitment of new business to the county. That means bringing in primary employers who produce products, as well as supporting retail stores, she said.

When primary employers come into the community, it benefits all parts of the economy, she said.

Advertisement

MCEDC serves all of Morgan County and its municipalities, not just one city, and whatever benefits one community benefits them all, Wilson noted.

During 2012, her office built stakeholders groups all over the county. These meet monthly to discuss economic development projects, as well as quality of life issues, she said.

Monthly economic roundtable coffees were set up to gain the communities' voices on issues, Wilson said.

MCEDC also continued an emphasis on developing local business infrastructure.

Fort Morgan Mayor Terry McAlister, left, receives the Investor of the Year Award from Rick Kriegh, president of the Morgan County Economic Development Corp., during the organization s 2013 Annual Meeting Thursday at the Country Steak-Out.
(Dan Barker/Fort Morgan Times)

Wilson explained that companies that consider moving to Morgan County often look at the local physical and social infrastructure first. They look to see if roads and railroads meet their needs, and may dismiss the county if it does not already have those in place or if those cannot be provided relatively quickly.

Infrastructure development is a must for the future economic development of the county, she said.

The largest part of the MCEDC budget goes into marketing, Wilson said. That can mean going outside the county to trade shows, but also means keeping its business expansion and relocation guide updated.

MCEDC has tools such as an updated demographic profile, information about financing, marketing lists, business profiles, customer profiles.

Mark Kokes of the Morgan County Quality Water District talks about the history of the district and the future of water in Morgan County during the Morgan County Economic Development Corp. 2013 Annual Meeting Thursday at the Country Steak-Out.
(Dan Barker/Fort Morgan Times)

It can assure companies that customized training is available through Morgan Community College, that the county offers various kinds of incentives and that it is developing its water options.

A revolving loan fund helps small businesses with small loans to create or retain local jobs.

Wilson said she hopes to work more on the business accelerator program, which offers mentorship, counseling and resources for entrepreneurs.

During the past year, MCEDC maintained and forged partnerships with the Small Business Development Center, the State Office of Economic Development, the Northeast Colorado Association of Local Governments and the county commissioners.

Wilson said she also took MCEDC's marketing folder and made them digital. Now she can hand prospects jump drives with all the information they need, rather than bulky binders.

Awards

Ron Sand was honored for Small Business of the Year. He reopened the Park Terrace Inn under his name this past year, putting the facility back into business after it had closed.

He is also opening Sand's Chicken Inn in the restaurant portion of that facility.

East Morgan County Hospital was honored as the Large Business of the Year, which was a hard decision to make, Wilson said. There were several businesses in the running.

EMCH is starting a multi-million expansion project.

The City of Fort Morgan was chosen as the Investor of the Year, because it has started using MCEDC more frequently, and the corporation appreciates how the city supports it, Wilson said.

She also gave out plaques of celebration to Edward's Right Price Market on the occasion of its 80th anniversary and to Cargill Meat Solutions for its 25th anniversary in Fort Morgan.

The City of Brush was honored for all the work it has put into its downtown revitalization project.

Wilson said that many people had supported her in her first year as executive director, but she chose Bret Poland of Raymond James Financial of Brush for the S.A.G.E. Award, which is given to the person who offers the most support to the director.

Water

Wilson said she has come to realize the pivotal importance of water to businesses in Colorado and Morgan County, which was why she chose Morgan County Quality Water District General Manager Mark Kokes as the speaker for the annual meeting.

MCQWD was formed due to poor water quality 35 years ago, Kokes said. People began to discuss it in 1976, and started it in 1978.

The district had its skeptics. The area already had adequate wells, and it took "a lot of guts" to put it together, he said. That courage came from a group of forward-thinking farmers and community members such as Paul McDill and Bob Samples.

Supporters went door to door signing people up, because the district needed commitments from enough people to convince someone to give it a loan, Kokes said.

At that time, people could buy a tap for $350, which was quite a bargain. Today, it costs $17,400, he said.

Currently, MCQWD serves about 3,000 customers from three different aquifers, as well as from Colorado-Big Thompson water units, Kokes said. It is also a participant in the Northern Integrated Supply Project, which plans more water storage.

MCQWD maintains 540 miles of pipeline, which is aging and is expensive to maintain, but it is taken care of by a small crew of five employees, and the district only has 10 employees altogether, which helps to keep prices down, he said.

The people who organized MCQWD created something that could not be made today, because it would be too expensive, Kokes said.

It is important to take opportunities as they come, which is one reason it is critical that communities support NISP, he said.

Quality Water encourages smart growth and planning, Kokes said. It is working in cooperation with the county government and municipalities to build a comprehensive GPS map, which can be used to show the local infrastructure to companies interested in moving to Morgan County.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.